I. Skill-Building
New Skier “born” on Feb. 16, 2011; completely snake-bit with pure enjoyment.
Male
5’ 10”
Min. weight: 170 lbs.
Max. weight: 190 lbs. (with boots, clothing, backpack, and huge breakfast)
MA-VT-NH-ME
Skiing Blues at Killington and dodgey wild runs down the Wild Turkey Black Diamond at Jiminy Peak.
Want to stay on ski trails; no desire as of now to trek around off-trail.
Able to ski in parallel, but never properly carve a line; every turn is tail-skidding.
Will obtain more ski instruction.
***Ultimate goal is to ski the Superstar at Killington, in balance and under control.***
II. What does it cost to ski Superstar?
Completed much reading about the physiological mechanics of skiing and choices for skis, bindings, and boots --- Harold Harb and PMTS.
Now find self in dizzy spiral of decision-making about what gear to buy.
Do not want to spend $500 or more in the upcoming season to demo different skis every weekend.
Skis -- Seems like the stiffer skis built for higher speed have waist sizes in the 60’s mm range. If I buy skis of this waist size will I be able to get through late season wet heavy knee-bashing mounds of New England Oatmeal and Mashed Potatos? Or, will I need a 70’s mm waist to handle this?
Do I need to focus solely on race/carve skis in order to have longitudinal/torsional stiffness and proper edge-hold at higher speeds, or are there also Frontside and All-Mountain skis that are appropriate for higher speeds?
For example, there’s no way I can handle true GS skis with turn radius of 25-40 meters, but even the GS cheaters look very expensive -- $1,200 and most without binding. By contrast, how about the Head iSuperShape Speed SW SP 13 (118-68-100) at about half the price. It seems made for higher speed; will it also handle the mashed potatos?
Boots -- so complicated. Do you have to jump up to Race boot level ($600-$900) to be assured of good stiffness, less ramp angle, and proper lateral support at higher speeds? Or, are there non-race boots that achieve almost the same support for about $350?
III. Or...
Should I forget about buying any gear and going faster until I can successfully link together carved turns with no skidding on standard rental gear?
Thanks for your help.
New Skier “born” on Feb. 16, 2011; completely snake-bit with pure enjoyment.
Male
5’ 10”
Min. weight: 170 lbs.
Max. weight: 190 lbs. (with boots, clothing, backpack, and huge breakfast)
MA-VT-NH-ME
Skiing Blues at Killington and dodgey wild runs down the Wild Turkey Black Diamond at Jiminy Peak.
Want to stay on ski trails; no desire as of now to trek around off-trail.
Able to ski in parallel, but never properly carve a line; every turn is tail-skidding.
Will obtain more ski instruction.
***Ultimate goal is to ski the Superstar at Killington, in balance and under control.***
II. What does it cost to ski Superstar?
Completed much reading about the physiological mechanics of skiing and choices for skis, bindings, and boots --- Harold Harb and PMTS.
Now find self in dizzy spiral of decision-making about what gear to buy.
Do not want to spend $500 or more in the upcoming season to demo different skis every weekend.
Skis -- Seems like the stiffer skis built for higher speed have waist sizes in the 60’s mm range. If I buy skis of this waist size will I be able to get through late season wet heavy knee-bashing mounds of New England Oatmeal and Mashed Potatos? Or, will I need a 70’s mm waist to handle this?
Do I need to focus solely on race/carve skis in order to have longitudinal/torsional stiffness and proper edge-hold at higher speeds, or are there also Frontside and All-Mountain skis that are appropriate for higher speeds?
For example, there’s no way I can handle true GS skis with turn radius of 25-40 meters, but even the GS cheaters look very expensive -- $1,200 and most without binding. By contrast, how about the Head iSuperShape Speed SW SP 13 (118-68-100) at about half the price. It seems made for higher speed; will it also handle the mashed potatos?
Boots -- so complicated. Do you have to jump up to Race boot level ($600-$900) to be assured of good stiffness, less ramp angle, and proper lateral support at higher speeds? Or, are there non-race boots that achieve almost the same support for about $350?
III. Or...
Should I forget about buying any gear and going faster until I can successfully link together carved turns with no skidding on standard rental gear?
Thanks for your help.